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Charlotte: The Final Journey of Jane Eyre
A manuscript is discovered purporting to be the work of Charlotte Bronte. The manuscript, both remarkable and surprising, offers a darker, alternative ending to the story of Jane and Mr. Rochester in the classic Jane Eyre.
Freed from the constraints of Victorian modesty and subservience, D. M. Thomas' modern 'Jane Eyre' is sexually and politically enlightened, but also troubled and sometimes cruel. Jane's damaged personality resonates at the centre of this haunting book.
D. M. Thomas uses the basic elements of Jane Eyre to tease the tangle of Victorian melodrama into a new form. By transporting the action to modern day Martinique, he examines the changing patterns of slavery and colonialism. Pursuing the unforgettable characters of Jane and Rochester through time, D. M. Thomas brings them into focus for the modern reader.
Freed from the constraints of Victorian modesty and subservience, D. M. Thomas' modern 'Jane Eyre' is sexually and politically enlightened, but also troubled and sometimes cruel. Jane's damaged personality resonates at the centre of this haunting book.
D. M. Thomas uses the basic elements of Jane Eyre to tease the tangle of Victorian melodrama into a new form. By transporting the action to modern day Martinique, he examines the changing patterns of slavery and colonialism. Pursuing the unforgettable characters of Jane and Rochester through time, D. M. Thomas brings them into focus for the modern reader.
- GenresFiction
173 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2000
2 people are currently reading
48 people want to read
About the author
D.M. Thomas
85 books84 followersD.M. Thomas was born in Cornwall in 1935. After reading English at New College, Oxford, he became a teacher and was Head of the English Department at Hereford College of Education until he became a full-time writer. His first novel The Flute-Player won the Gollancz Pan/Picador Fantasy Competition. He is also known for his collections of verse and his translation from the Russian poet Anna Akhmatova.
He was awarded the Los Angeles Fiction prize for his novel The White Hotel, an international bestseller, translated into 30 languages; a Cholmondeley award for poetry; and the Orwell Prize for his biography of Alexander Solzhenitsyn. He lives in his native Cornwall, England.
He was awarded the Los Angeles Fiction prize for his novel The White Hotel, an international bestseller, translated into 30 languages; a Cholmondeley award for poetry; and the Orwell Prize for his biography of Alexander Solzhenitsyn. He lives in his native Cornwall, England.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 20, 2013
This novel is partially a faked manuscript with an alternative ending to "Jane Eyre", partially a woman's slutty visit to Martinique and partially the woman's father's weird and creepy diary. The book could have been much improved if it had either a) just been an alternative look at what happened after the 'happily ever afters' in "Jane Eyre" (in which case it I would have to claw my eyes out) or b) just been about the woman shagging her way through Martinique (in which case I wouldn't have had to read it in the first place).
I wonder how I can try to write this without using too many spoilers. I'll give it a go, but apologies if I fail miserably.
In chapters one through five, we learn that Jane and Rochester didn't live happily ever after. In fact, Rochester soon dies and Jane decides to go to Martinique with Grace Poole as a companion, looking for Rochester and Bertha's heir.
Then it skips to Martinique in 1999, where Miranda Stevenson is a lecturer come to give a talk on Charlotte Brontë. When she's not busy having unprotected sex with the locals, that is. We also learn that Miranda has a husband and two children back home in England. But nah, the one thing on Miranda's mind is to have sex with the locals (because they're black and therefore sooooo exotic?) as much as she can while recording it on tape, drink until she pukes and smoke a lot.
Then we learn how she once faked a manuscript for her bibliophile dad, and then there's another chapter from Jane Eyre's perspective, and then it's back to Miranda getting laid in Martinique. Once she's left the island, perspective is cut to that of her lecherous old dad (quite possibly a paedophile, although "it was a different time back then"), writing his journal. Yuck.
And finally, there's a letter from Rochester Jr to the former Miss Temple summing it all up, with Jane and (the good-looking) Rochester Jr living together in sin, because that's totally what Jane would do.
Ugh.
And to think it started out so well. At the beginning, before things go awry (and St John was madly in love with Jane because of her passionate nature and all that, by the way), it was kind of okay. Then, things started to go awry, of course, and it got worse by the minute. Then it switched to Miranda's Martinique Sexfest, which was squicky to say the least.
Sure, Martinique was described in a lot of detail, and the writing itself wasn't bad, but I didn't like any of the characters, and it was way too lewd and creepy, and Miranda was kinda rapey. Maybe it's considered as brilliant as the description will let you believe, if you see it as some sort of euphemism for slavery, or some version of "Jane Eyre" where Rochester is a British woman, or what have you. I just know that whatever the hell it was, it sure wasn't pleasant.
I wonder how I can try to write this without using too many spoilers. I'll give it a go, but apologies if I fail miserably.
In chapters one through five, we learn that Jane and Rochester didn't live happily ever after. In fact, Rochester soon dies and Jane decides to go to Martinique with Grace Poole as a companion, looking for Rochester and Bertha's heir.
Then it skips to Martinique in 1999, where Miranda Stevenson is a lecturer come to give a talk on Charlotte Brontë. When she's not busy having unprotected sex with the locals, that is. We also learn that Miranda has a husband and two children back home in England. But nah, the one thing on Miranda's mind is to have sex with the locals (because they're black and therefore sooooo exotic?) as much as she can while recording it on tape, drink until she pukes and smoke a lot.
Then we learn how she once faked a manuscript for her bibliophile dad, and then there's another chapter from Jane Eyre's perspective, and then it's back to Miranda getting laid in Martinique. Once she's left the island, perspective is cut to that of her lecherous old dad (quite possibly a paedophile, although "it was a different time back then"), writing his journal. Yuck.
And finally, there's a letter from Rochester Jr to the former Miss Temple summing it all up, with Jane and (the good-looking) Rochester Jr living together in sin, because that's totally what Jane would do.
Ugh.
And to think it started out so well. At the beginning, before things go awry (and St John was madly in love with Jane because of her passionate nature and all that, by the way), it was kind of okay. Then, things started to go awry, of course, and it got worse by the minute. Then it switched to Miranda's Martinique Sexfest, which was squicky to say the least.
Sure, Martinique was described in a lot of detail, and the writing itself wasn't bad, but I didn't like any of the characters, and it was way too lewd and creepy, and Miranda was kinda rapey. Maybe it's considered as brilliant as the description will let you believe, if you see it as some sort of euphemism for slavery, or some version of "Jane Eyre" where Rochester is a British woman, or what have you. I just know that whatever the hell it was, it sure wasn't pleasant.
September 16, 2011
SKIMMED.
I shouldn't have picked this book up, I know that.
Fans of Jane Eyre, who like it just the way it is, and thought it ended perfectly well, might loathe this book as much as I did.
I'm all for creative license, but I have yet to find a sequel or companion novel to a beloved classic that I liked. See Mr. Darcy, Vampyre.
But to take a wonderful book and turn it on it's head like this, sorry, I just can't endorse this at all.
I shouldn't have picked this book up, I know that.
Fans of Jane Eyre, who like it just the way it is, and thought it ended perfectly well, might loathe this book as much as I did.
I'm all for creative license, but I have yet to find a sequel or companion novel to a beloved classic that I liked. See Mr. Darcy, Vampyre.
But to take a wonderful book and turn it on it's head like this, sorry, I just can't endorse this at all.
April 28, 2015
In assoluto il libro più orrendo mai letto.
Ogni tanto torno a controllare che esista davvero, e non sia stato solo un incubo dovuto a una cena troppo pesante.
Ogni tanto torno a controllare che esista davvero, e non sia stato solo un incubo dovuto a una cena troppo pesante.
March 19, 2012
The following review is not for the easily
offended and neither is the book it's about.
Charlotte by D.M.Thomas
Well I have read many of D.M. Thomas translations
over the years of many of my favourite Russian
authors from Pushkin to Mandelstam and Ahkmatova
to name but three, but had never read any of his
own stuff up till now, and to be truthful I wish
I had left it that way. Charlotte is described as
an updating of Jane Eyre and the first third
reads like a straight re-write or translation of
that book almost to the point that I was
wondering what the point was of reading about
this hopelessly naive woman who married a well to
do cripple. Then in chapter 6 it suddenly jumps
forward to Martinique in 1999 and that's where
things get disgusting and perverted beyond any
real need, as we are transposed into the life of
some evil woman who and this is the connection
was the "author" of the so called alternate
version of Jane Eyre and the Charlotte Bronte
legend we have been reading to this point, only
the woman turns out to be in Martinique on a
mission to have the most unsafe sex she can and
to abuse as many of the locals she can along the
way, the fact that she glories in her refusal to
use contraceptives of any sort while randomly
having sex with any guy she can is pretty
offensive, but not as offensive as to what
happens after she near as dammit rapes some poor
Gay guy who tries to be a friend to her, at least
he insists on being protected, although it
doesn't protect him from the crap she gets him
into.
As for why she has marital problems, which turns
out is because her father thinks it is his right
to sexually interfere with his grand-children at
bath time, something her husband objected too,
made me feel pretty sick, and the way it was
written seemed like a justification of the
actions of the grandfather.
By the end of the book I no longer cared about
any of the characters and actually was hoping far
more harm came to them than in fact did.
This book is abhorrent and makes very unpleasant
reading, if you want to read Jane Eyre go and
read the original there is no need at all for
this update.
offended and neither is the book it's about.
Charlotte by D.M.Thomas
Well I have read many of D.M. Thomas translations
over the years of many of my favourite Russian
authors from Pushkin to Mandelstam and Ahkmatova
to name but three, but had never read any of his
own stuff up till now, and to be truthful I wish
I had left it that way. Charlotte is described as
an updating of Jane Eyre and the first third
reads like a straight re-write or translation of
that book almost to the point that I was
wondering what the point was of reading about
this hopelessly naive woman who married a well to
do cripple. Then in chapter 6 it suddenly jumps
forward to Martinique in 1999 and that's where
things get disgusting and perverted beyond any
real need, as we are transposed into the life of
some evil woman who and this is the connection
was the "author" of the so called alternate
version of Jane Eyre and the Charlotte Bronte
legend we have been reading to this point, only
the woman turns out to be in Martinique on a
mission to have the most unsafe sex she can and
to abuse as many of the locals she can along the
way, the fact that she glories in her refusal to
use contraceptives of any sort while randomly
having sex with any guy she can is pretty
offensive, but not as offensive as to what
happens after she near as dammit rapes some poor
Gay guy who tries to be a friend to her, at least
he insists on being protected, although it
doesn't protect him from the crap she gets him
into.
As for why she has marital problems, which turns
out is because her father thinks it is his right
to sexually interfere with his grand-children at
bath time, something her husband objected too,
made me feel pretty sick, and the way it was
written seemed like a justification of the
actions of the grandfather.
By the end of the book I no longer cared about
any of the characters and actually was hoping far
more harm came to them than in fact did.
This book is abhorrent and makes very unpleasant
reading, if you want to read Jane Eyre go and
read the original there is no need at all for
this update.
November 1, 2015
A beautiful story. You've never seen Jane like this before.
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April 10, 2016I don't even know. How does one deal with offensive books; I haven't learned that yet. I mean, I liked it. The first fifty pages were torturous, but I thought the transition to modernity was awesome, the Miranda character was nice and aggressive and the parallels were interesting. I'm glad I read it although it doesn't hold up to the standard of the other Jane-Eyre-inspired works from our seminar.
***Update*** One thing I can say is that many readers seem to reject this book on the wrong grounds. They compare the literary standard to that of Jane Eyre, which isn't very helpful. They don't like the pornographic aspects, but I feel like the book is intentionally distasteful? I mean, of course it is! What you CAN and SHOULD attack this book for is race relations. The position of Miranda as a feminist is questionable also.
I first read "Charlotte" too generously: white male privilege working for Mr. Thomas. I excused the racist tropes, believing that Miranda was a more complex character than she actually is, probably. I can't say anymore that the reproduction of racist images serves some higher purpose in the novel - that's ridiculous. However, I stand by the statement that "Charlotte" is an interesting read and the discussion of intertextuality and postcolonial sexuality, whatever that may be, shouldn't be dismissed over some explicit vocabulary or the mutation of Jane Eyre. Those things are meant to disturb; allow yourself to be disturbed. Be conscious of the racism and be disturbed. And don't pretend that Jane Eyre isn't racist and disturbing.
***Update*** One thing I can say is that many readers seem to reject this book on the wrong grounds. They compare the literary standard to that of Jane Eyre, which isn't very helpful. They don't like the pornographic aspects, but I feel like the book is intentionally distasteful? I mean, of course it is! What you CAN and SHOULD attack this book for is race relations. The position of Miranda as a feminist is questionable also.
I first read "Charlotte" too generously: white male privilege working for Mr. Thomas. I excused the racist tropes, believing that Miranda was a more complex character than she actually is, probably. I can't say anymore that the reproduction of racist images serves some higher purpose in the novel - that's ridiculous. However, I stand by the statement that "Charlotte" is an interesting read and the discussion of intertextuality and postcolonial sexuality, whatever that may be, shouldn't be dismissed over some explicit vocabulary or the mutation of Jane Eyre. Those things are meant to disturb; allow yourself to be disturbed. Be conscious of the racism and be disturbed. And don't pretend that Jane Eyre isn't racist and disturbing.
June 20, 2020
I first read this years ago and was rather disappointed (being a huge fan of almost everything else DM Thomas has written), but to be frank I hadn’t read Jane Eyre, or Wide Sargasso Sea. Having rectified that recently I’m really glad that I decided to read this again and I’m pleased to say that I really enjoyed it 2nd time round.
It fizzes along, moving between different characters, locations and styles, and I think it works brilliantly as an examination of the enormous changes in our society, especially sexually, that have occurred in 150 odd years. Our outward image of the respectable and religious 19th century female writer is mixed up with the repressed undercurrents of passion/sex swirling between the lines in her great novel, and the rather outrageous activities of a promiscuous “emancipated” woman of the late 20th century.
It’s complex, multi-layered and takes a bit of concentration, and the explicit sex will put off many lovers of Jane Eyre, but it’s a valuable and under-rated work in my view.
It fizzes along, moving between different characters, locations and styles, and I think it works brilliantly as an examination of the enormous changes in our society, especially sexually, that have occurred in 150 odd years. Our outward image of the respectable and religious 19th century female writer is mixed up with the repressed undercurrents of passion/sex swirling between the lines in her great novel, and the rather outrageous activities of a promiscuous “emancipated” woman of the late 20th century.
It’s complex, multi-layered and takes a bit of concentration, and the explicit sex will put off many lovers of Jane Eyre, but it’s a valuable and under-rated work in my view.
January 1, 2014
Anyone who loves and appreciates Charlotte's Bronte's JANE EYRE will be very disappointed in this "sequel" to the book. One expects a bit of liberty in paraliterature, but this is just a disaster. It gets one star because the author can structurally write very well. I have heard that Thomas has written other well received books, but this is one topic he should have steered clear from.
November 3, 2024
I've always thought D.M. Thomas brilliant, and this intertextual novel is yet another example of his skill as an author and storyteller. When he passed last year, I was saddened by such a great loss, but I have his books to console me.
I don't want to give anything away for those that may want to read this book so I'm going to try and explain things without being too exacting. Charlotte is a short novel that contains the remnants of another novel (an alternative ending to Jane Eyre) and three other stories, one concerning the protagonist, her trip to Martinique, and her relationship with her father, who has his own story to tell. The final part of the book returns to the alternative ending of Jane Eyre, but this time, it's different, as the layers of the Martinique interlude are superimposed upon the other parts of the book just as one's perceptions and observations of the Martinique portion are altered by taking the beginning and ending into account.
D.M. Thomas has written a thought-provoking novel that does shock with its depictions of overt sexuality, racism and colonialism, but the brilliance of his writing lies in his ability to juxtapose these themes as well as those of the parent-child relationship, mental illness, and adult relationships so that we see how interrelated they are. Looking at the bigger picture, one cannot take anything at face value without delving into its role as a cog in a larger piece of machinery.
I don't want to give anything away for those that may want to read this book so I'm going to try and explain things without being too exacting. Charlotte is a short novel that contains the remnants of another novel (an alternative ending to Jane Eyre) and three other stories, one concerning the protagonist, her trip to Martinique, and her relationship with her father, who has his own story to tell. The final part of the book returns to the alternative ending of Jane Eyre, but this time, it's different, as the layers of the Martinique interlude are superimposed upon the other parts of the book just as one's perceptions and observations of the Martinique portion are altered by taking the beginning and ending into account.
D.M. Thomas has written a thought-provoking novel that does shock with its depictions of overt sexuality, racism and colonialism, but the brilliance of his writing lies in his ability to juxtapose these themes as well as those of the parent-child relationship, mental illness, and adult relationships so that we see how interrelated they are. Looking at the bigger picture, one cannot take anything at face value without delving into its role as a cog in a larger piece of machinery.
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September 3, 2025A waste of a tree
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews